title: Beyond knockout rats: new insights into finer genome manipulation in rats.
abstract: The ability to "knockout" specific genes in mice via embryonic stem (ES) cell-based gene-targeting technology has significantly enriched our understanding of gene function in normal and disease phenotypes. Improvements on this original strategy have been developed to enable the manipulation of genomes in a more sophisticated fashion with unprecedented precision. The rat is the model of choice in many areas of scientific investigation despite the lack of rat genetic toolboxes. Most Recent advances of zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and rat ES cells are diminishing the gap between rat and mouse with respect to reverse genetic approaches. Importantly, the establishment of rat ES cell-based gene targeting technology, in combination with the unique advantages of using rats, provides new, exciting opportunities to create animal models that mimic human diseases more faithfully. We hereby report our recent results concerning finer genetic modifications in the rat, and propose their potential applications in addressing biological questions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA USA.
authors.forename: Guanyi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Dhruv S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kumbhani
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ashton
authors.forename: Hexin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Qi-Long
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Ying
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases / Q000378:metabolism; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D018390:Gene Targeting / Q000379:methods*; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D023421:Models, Animal; D051381:Rats; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases